Palisades Cares

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Recent Activities

MLK Day of Service in Pacific Palisades, January 18

Over seventy people observed the MLK National Day of Service by volunteering in the Palisades with Palisades Cares. Most of them collected food and cash donations for the Westside Food Bank, sometimes in the pouring rain, in front of all three grocery stores and CVS. The Westside Food Bank, www.westsidefoodbankca.org, located in Santa Monica, distributes food to 65 local social service agencies. Eleven AmeriCorps team members weeded and picked up trash on Temescal Canyon Road in the rain. We collected 2400 lbs of food and $750 from generous shoppers. A representative from the Westside Food Bank said that the money alone would provide 3,000 meals at a rate of $5 per 20 meals.

The volunteers came from as far away as Long Beach, South Central L.A., and Larchmont and as close as Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades, thanks to publicity on the web (we posted on volunteermatch.org and thisweekinpalisades.com and sent an email to local schools) and in the Palisadian-Post. Six people from one company volunteered together. The youngest volunteer was four years old. Many students from Paul Revere Middle School and other schools spent their day off doing community service. Several families volunteered together including a mother and father with their 4 year old and 6 year old. No one said no to these kids who said, “Excuse me, please, can you pick up some food for the food bank”. The outpouring of volunteers this year was so strong that we added three volunteer sites.

It was inspiring to see how many people wanted to honor Dr. King’s legacy by serving others.

Next year, we will plan more volunteer opportunities so we can accomodate all who wish to volunteer.

8th Annual Holiday Spirit Toy Drive

Local residents donated over 80 toys in our collection boxes at Mogan's Cafe, Benton's, Regal Cleaners, and the YMCA. Members of the Chamber of Commerce also donated toys. The toys were given to OPCC for their client families and also to the Spark of Love toy drive.

Heal the Bay's Day without a Plastic Bag

Palisades Cares volunteers passed out 1,000 reusable bags in the Palisades on December 17. Thanks to students from Palisades High School and other volunteers.

We Helped Homeless Kids and School on Wheels in September

The Annual Backpack/School Supplies Drive resulted in 56 backpacks and lots of school supplies which we donated to School on Wheels. This organization, based on Skid Row, tutors homeless kids all over LA.

School on Wheels, www.schoolonwheels.org, also needs tutors. .

4th of July Parade

Students from Calvary Christian School marched in the parade wearing "Green the Palisades" tshirts and pushing recycling cans. They followed the Citizen of the Year car containing Marie Steckmest, who was honored for her green activities in town.

Palisades Reads

Our 1st annual Palisades Reads was a success! Over 100 residents participated in the various events and many more read The Soloist. People's consciousness was raised about homelessness and mental illness and we enjoyed some beautiful music.

Speakers at the final Palisades Reads event held on April 29 at Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church discussed homelessness, mental illness, and how we can help humanize people with these issues.

Rene Buchanan, volunteer coordinator at Daybreak, a shelter for mentally ill homeless women, told a story of a successful woman who suddenly started suffering from depression, became estranged from family and friends, entered hospitals for treatment, and one day was dropped at the doors of OPCC’s Access Center. Several years later, the woman, Rene, is now a staff member, free from depression and substance abuse, in her own apartment, working to help women who are suffering from mental illness and homelessness.

Celebration of New Recycling Bins in the Commercial Area

Pacific Palisades now has 15 blue recycling containers in the commercial area. The recycling containers are paired with trash containers to encourage proper waste disposal. Palisades Cares greatly appreciates the City of LA Bureau of Public Works Community Beautification Grant, and donations by local Palisadians which allowed us to purchase and install these bins. The bins are made by Los Angeles based company, Canterbury International. Remember to recycle clean items and no food waste!!

Palisades Cares thanked its donors at an event at The Oak Room on Feb. 5. Attendees included Councilman Rosendahl and staff; Michael Espinosa of the Office of Community Beautification; donors including Michael Edlen, Lester Wood from the Optimist Club, and Kevin Niles from the Rotary Club, and other community members.

MLK Day of Service, Palisades Cares Food Collection Project
The MLK Day of Service on January 19 was a huge success in the Palisades. 40 volunteers helped to collect 5460 lbs of groceries and over $300 for Westside Food Bank at the grocery stores in Pacific Palisades! We filled an entire truck! Thanks to the generous volunteers, shoppers, and grocery stores. Our volunteers learned about the event from the Palisadian Post and postings on volunteermatch.org, usaservice.org, and moveon.org.

Day without a Bag, December 18

Volunteers in Pacific Palisades distributed over 1000 reusable bags on the Heal the Bay's Day without a Bag. Bags were donated by Earthwise, 1bagatatime, LA City, Oasis Palisades, ChicoBag and the Green Garmento. A local volunteer is seen below on the Village Green, wearing a ChicoBag Bag Monster costume. The costume is composed of 500 plastic bags which is the number of plastic bags an average person uses annually.

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